Tensions boiled over Saturday outside of a Los Angeles spa during a protest in response to the alleged exposure of a transgender woman’s penis in an all-woman’s wet spa section.
A woman complained to Wi Spa over the alleged exposure of a transgender woman’s genitals in front of women and children in a viral Instagram video which sparked protests in support of her, Fox News reported. The arrival of a group of individuals in black clothing, who some claimed to be part of Antifa, sparked a series of hostile encounters, footage showed.
One video appears to show individuals wearing masks and black hoodies attacking a female protester and a group of Christian street preachers, hitting one of them in the face with a skateboard. One person reported that they were stabbed, according to Fox News. (RELATED: Antifa Members Have Repeatedly Attacked Journalists Who Cover Them)
The individuals punched a man in the face then chased him down the street yelling crude remarks at him, footage shows.
“Get the fuck out,” a woman from the crowd yelled. “Go home fucking racist, you’re not welcome here.”
Breaking: A mob of antifa (look at their flag if it’s not obvious enough) punch a man, then chase & assault a videographer at the Wi Spa protest in Los Angeles. cc @pressfreedom, @uspresstracker, @spj_tweets pic.twitter.com/GiIlDzuiKI
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) July 3, 2021
Footage showed the members surrounding a woman and tearing her sign. Moments later, they chanted “Go home transphobe.” The woman replied that she is not against transgender people but “does not want to see their penises” at the spa.
Antifa mob attacked a woman protesting peacefully outside Wi Spa in Los Angeles. The spa was at the center of a recent viral video where a woman complained to staff that a person with a penis exposed their genitals to women & girls. pic.twitter.com/o4YUHgYaru
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) July 3, 2021
Police declared the encounters an unlawful assembly and attempted to break up the crowd, according to Fox News. LAPD Officer Mike Lopez said at least five crimes had been committed, including assault and battery, though it was not immediately known if arrests were made.
“Three of them [protesters] were victims of assault and battery, and the other two were assaulted with a deadly weapon,” Lopez told Fox News Saturday.
The protests responded to a woman sparring with spa employees saying that the transgender woman is a “man” and that there is “no such thing as transgender” in a viral Instagram video.
“He is not a female. Girls down there, other women, are highly offended for what they just saw and you did nothing. In fact, you sided with him. So Wi Spa is in agreement with men that just say they are a woman, they can go down there with their penis and go into the woman’s section,” the woman said in the video. “There’s no such thing as transgender, he has a dick.”
Following the incident, Wi Spa issued a statement saying that they follow California law that prohibits businesses from discriminating against a particular group of people and does not tolerate “lewd conduct” of any customer on the basis of their characteristics.
“As a spa located in Los Angeles, Wi Spa complies with California law prohibiting discrimination by a business, including the Civil Code provision set forth above,” the statement said.